Photo caption: Shehan Karunatilaka, a Sri Lankan-New Zealand writer who won the Booker Prize in 2022, and New Zealand novelist Becky Manawatu are joining the University of Canterbury this year as Ursula Bethell Writers in Residence.
Shehan Karunatilaka, a Sri Lankan-New Zealand writer who won the Booker Prize in 2022 for his novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, and Becky Manawatu, (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha) who won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards’ Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, for her 2019 debut novel Auē, have been appointed 2026 Ursula Bethell Writers in Residence at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC).
The residency is co-funded by Creative New Zealand and Toi Tangata | Faculty of Arts at the University of Canterbury.
Karunatilaka, who was born in Sri Lanka but went to high school and university in New Zealand, is returning to Aotearoa to take up the six-month residency later this month. He won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize for his first novel, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew and has written three children’s books along with features on sport, music and travel for The Guardian, Rolling Stone, GQ and National Geographic.
“I’m thrilled and inspired to be returning to Aotearoa after all these years,” Karunatilaka says.
“My writing adventures began while mucking about in Whanganui, Palmy and Wellington in the 1990s. Got some stories about New Zealand that have been bubbling in notebooks for decades.
“Excited to discover Christchurch and meet its characters, and reconnect with the land, the music and of course, the rugby and the cricket. Hoping to find the space to tackle some new ideas and explore some new voices.”
Manawatu won the 2025 Keri Hulme Award for her latest novel Kataraina, a sequel to Auē, and is receiving considerable international attention, appearing at the Edinburgh Book Festival last August. She will take up the UC and Creative New Zealand Ursula Bethell Residency in Creative Writing in July, for the second half of 2026.
Manawatu says the residency will be “invaluable” and she can’t wait to be at UC. “Obviously the financial support will give me more time to spend on my manuscript which I am really excited about.
“I’m also looking forward to having time at UC and in Ōtautahi to connect with other writers and readers. I’m hoping a new environment will bring a wave of fresh energy, ideas – a bit of a recharge of the imagination.”
UC Senior Lecturer in English Dr Erin Harrington says this year’s residency appointments are exciting. “We are extremely proud to have two internationally recognised literary talents coming to the University of Canterbury.
“Writers in residence spend a lot of time with staff and students and become valued members of the UC community. It’s perfect timing to have such esteemed writers here for the launch of our new Bachelor of Arts Writing Major and Minor, and our new Creative Writing Minor in 2026.”
Ursula Bethell was a Christchurch-based poet and artist. The Ursula Bethell Residency in Creative Writing was established in 1979 to support New Zealand writers and foster New Zealand writing. It allows writers of proven merit to work on an approved project within an academic environment. Previous recipients include Owen Marshall (1981), Margaret Mahy (1984), Keri Hulme (1985), Eleanor Catton (2011), and Pip Adam (2024).
.png)
.jpg)
